If you are reading this and are a Chadds Ford Township resident, please take a moment to send a “thank you” to your township supervisors for acting quickly and strategically to create and pass a comprehensive ordinance to address and manage potential data center interest in our township.
If you are a resident of a neighboring township in Delaware County or Chester County, please reach out to your elected officials and ask them to take action immediately. A data center in your community or a neighboring one could lead to noise and light pollution, skyrocketing electrical rates, and huge consumption of water, which is needed to cool these massive computing centers.
This past Wednesday, Upper Merion Township residents turned out in mass to attend a township planning meeting. They filled the meeting room and even overflowed to the lobby and outside! That night, a developer was proposing a data center campus which would result in a data center footprint in their township that is larger than the footprint of the King of Prussia Mall and even the Philadelphia Airport. Even though the Upper Merion Planning Commission passed a related ordinance in March, the application was submitted before that date. As a result, the developer can legally move forward with their project without the safeguards the ordinance would impose.
The Chadds Ford Ordinance was the first of 49 communities in DelCO to be passed. County officials and local fire company officials have given it high praise. The Chadds Ford Township supervisors have indicated a willingness to share this ordinance with any community or municipality to help protect their residents, neighborhoods, and environments.
The push is on for more data center development in Pennsylvania. In fact, Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed speeding up permitting for data centers that meet some environmental and transparency standards during his recent budget address. While members of both parties are discussing options to manage this push, it is key that local municipalities and townships control their own destiny. They need to adopt effective ordinances before it is too late, as is the case in Upper Merion. Please speak out.
Pauk Koch,
Chadds Ford Township
